Asclepias
syriaca
Common Milkweed potted plants are
available
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Asclepias syriaca
seed
Common Milkweed seed

approximate
number of seeds

approximate coverage
in square feet

1 packet - $2.50 +
shipping

100

20 sq ft

1 ounce - $20.00

3,000

150 sq ft

1 pound -----------

48,000

2400 sq ft

Asclepias syriaca, Common Milkweeds, are a favorite nectar
source for butterflies and are host plants for caterpillars including Monarch butterfly
larva. A stout plant with large leaves, large pink flower clusters and a strong fragrance reminiscent of
Lilacs, Common Milkweed is
a
wonderful horticultural plant for landscaping to attract butterflies. It is a good choice for
sunny flower beds, very attractive and easily controlled, but becomes
weedy in farmers fields. No pretreatment is needed for seed germination.
Other common names for asclepias syriaca include Virginia-silk,
algodoncillo, silky swallowwort, herbe à la ouate, Seidenpflanze. Common
Milkweed plants grown from seed under good conditions will bloom the second
year.

Warning: Milkweed may be toxic when taken internally, without
sufficient preparation.

Ethnobotanic:
People have used milkweed for fiber, food, and medicine all over the United
States and southern Canada.Milkweeds
supply tough fibers for making cords and ropes, and for weaving a coarse cloth.Milkweed stems are collected after the stalks senesce in late fall-early
winter.The dried stalks are split
open to release the fibers; milkweed fibers are sometimes mixed with fibers of
Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum).The
bark is removed and the fibers released by first rubbing between the hands and
then drawing the fibers over a hard surface.Twisting the fiber opposite each other and twining them together forms
the cord.Often this is
accomplished by rolling the fibers on the thigh while twisting them together.

The young
shoots, stems, flower buds, immature fruits, and roots of butterfly milkweed
were boiled and eaten as a vegetable by various indigenous groups of eastern and
mid-western America.The Meskwaki steam the flower buds as a food source; they are
nutritious but not considered very flavorful.

The Cherokee
drank an infusion of common milkweed root and virgin’s bower (Clematis
species) for backaches (Moerman 1986).The
Cherokee, Iroquois, and Rappahannock used the sap to remove warts, for ringworm,
and for bee stings.The Cherokee
used the plant as a laxative, an antidote for gravel and dropsy, and an infusion
was given for mastitis.The
Cherokee took an infusion of the root for venereal diseases.The Chippewa made a cold decoction of common milkweed root and added it
to food to produce postpartum milk flow.The
Iroquois took an infusion of milkweed leaves for stomach medicine.A compound decoction of plants was taken to prevent hemorrhage after
childbirth by the Iroquois.The Menominee ate the buds or a decoction of the root for
chest discomfort.The Ojibwa used
the root as a female remedy.The
Potawatomi used the root for unspecified ailments.

Common milkweed
was used by the Meskwaki as a contraceptive (Kindscher 1992, Erichsen-Brown
1979, De Laszlo and Henshaw 1954).A
Mohawk anti-fertility concoction was prepared by boiling a fistful of dried,
pulverized milkweed and three jack-in-the-pulpit rhizomes in a pint of water for
20 minutes.The infusion was drunk
at the rate of one cup an hour to induce temporary sterility (Kindscher 1992).

Milkweed
species as a group are known to contain cardiac glycosides that are poisonous to
humans and livestock, as well as other substances that may account for their
medicinal effect.Resinoids,
glycosides, and a small amount of alkaloids are present in all parts of the
plant.Symptoms of poisoning by the cardiac glycosides include
dullness, weakness, bloating, inability to stand or walk, high body temperature,
rapid and weak pulse, difficulty breathing, dilated pupils, spasms, and coma.

Wildlife:
The cardiac glycoside in milkweed has also been useful as a chemical defense for
monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus).Chemicals from the milkweed plant make the monarch caterpillar's flesh
distasteful to most predators.Monarch
butterflies are specific to milkweed plants; this is the only type of plant on
which the eggs are laid and the larvae will feed and matures into a chrysalis.Eggs are laid on the underside of young, healthy leaves.Monarch, Queen, and Viceroy butterflies are Müllerian mimics; all are
toxic, and have co-evolved similar warning patterns to avoid predation.Milkweed species are attractive to many insect species, including the
large milkweed bug, common milkweed bug, red milkweed beetle, blue milkweed
beetle, and bees.Accordingly, this
is a wonderful horticultural plant for landscaping to attract butterflies
(particularly monarchs), whose numbers are declining and migratory routes
changing due to lack of appropriate habitat.

Description
- General: Milkweed Family (Asclepiadaceae).Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
is a perennial herb growing from a deep rhizome. The hairy stems are usually
solitary from a simple to branched and thickened base, and are 6-20 dm (1.9-6.5
ft) tall.The opposite leaves have
broadly ovate to elliptic blades that are 10-20 cm (3.9-7.9 in) long and 5-11 cm
(1.9-4.3 in) wide.The leaves are
sparsely hairy above and densely hairy below, and the petiole is 0.2-1.4 cm
(0.08-0.77 in) long.The
inflorescence occurs in the upper leaf axils, and there are 20-130 flowers per
inflorescence.The flowers are
small, 11-17 mm (0.4-0.7 in), and bloom from May to August.The five petals are green to purple-tinged, and are topped by
a crown of five erect lobes that are rose to purple, rarely white.The fruits are spindle-shaped follicles covered with soft hairs.The small, round, hairy seeds are 6-8 mm (0.2-0.3 in) in diameter.

Distribution:
For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species
on the PLANTS Web site.This plant
grows throughout the Great Plains ecoregion from southern Canada south to NE
Oklahoma, NW Georgia, and Texas, and east from North Carolina to Maine.

Establishment
- Adaptation: Common milkweed
grows in sandy, clayey, or rocky calcareous soils.It occurs along the banks or flood plains of lakes, ponds, and waterways,
in prairies, forest margins, roadsides, and waste places. This species
hybridizes with showy milkweed (Asclepias
speciosa).

Common
milkweed is easily propagated by both seed and rhizome cuttings.Both seedlings and cuttings will usually bloom in their second year,
although cuttings will occasionally bloom during their first year.Seeds and plants are available from many nurseries.Common milkweed increases by underground shoots and can be invasive.It is ideal in semi-dry places where it can spread without presenting
problems for other ornamental species.

Propagation
from Cuttings: Propagation by cuttings of the tuberous rhizome is easy and
reliable.The cuttings should be
made when the plant is dormant.Each
piece of the rhizome should have at least one bud (they are about two inches
apart).Timing of propagation is
important.Harvest or divide plants
and get the plants in the ground by late fall so they can develop enough root
growth to survive the winter.Irrigation
the first year will improve survival, and by the second year the root system
should be well enough established so plants will survive on their own.

Both seedlings
and cuttings will usually bloom in their second year, although cuttings will
occasionally bloom during their first year (Kindscher 1992).

Propagation
from Seed: Common milkweed is easily propagated from seed.Process as follows:

1)
Collect seeds after the pods have ripened, but before they have split open.The seeds are wind dispersed, so be careful when gathering to place in a
paper or burlap bag to avoid losing them.

2)
Eliminate weeds before planting.Strip
off any sod. Cultivate the soil to a fine tilth, firm the soil by treading or
rolling, and rake lightly.

3)
Seeds can be directly sewn into the ground in the fall.Sow the seed mixture (with fine sand for even distribution) at a rate of
1/8 oz per sq. yd (4 g per sq. meter) or as advised.

4)
If planting in flats or in a greenhouse, common milkweed seeds should be
cold-treated for three months.

5)
The seed is very viable.It is not
certain how long you can store the seeds and maintain their viability.

6)
During the first summer, weed invasive plants and water as needed.

Management

Milkweed is burned in
the fall to eliminate dead stalks and stimulate new growth.Burning causes new growth to have taller, straighter stems (with longer
fibers).It also stimulates flower
and seed production.

When
used for fiber, milkweed is collected in the autumn after the leaves have begun
to fall off, the stalks turn gray or tan, and the plant dries up.If the milkweed stems will break off at the ground it's time to harvest.Breaking off as many stalks as possible encourages resprouting in the
spring.The dried stalks are then
split open and the fibers are twisted into string.Vast quantities of fiber plants are required for nets, regalia, and
cordage.